(1) Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to circuits and methods to detect signals in the μVolts range and relates more specifically to circuits being capable to rapidly detect short wake-up signals to activate a system.
(2) Background
Reducing power consumption of battery-operated devices is a significant challenge for engineers designing such systems. The functional range of modern electronic mobile devices is increasing rapidly and hence the efficiency of the electronic circuits has to be improved accordingly to extend battery lifetime.
Wake-up signals should consume minimal power only. Therefore these signals should be in the range of μVolts and such small signals should be detected and converted to a digital signal with a minimum delay in the range of below 1 msec.
It is a challenge for engineers designing circuits capable of detecting such small signals and converting them to a digital signal with a minimum delay only.